Kevin Durant Says 'It Was Tough' to See Ex-Teammate Steph Curry Break His Hand
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant said Thursday "it was tough" to see former Golden State Warriors teammate Stephen Curry break his hand Wednesday night.
Appearing on ESPN's First Take, KD noted that he was watching on television and expressed hope that Curry will be back soon:
"I mean, luckily it wasn't anything more serious than that. You know, especially seeing Klay [Thompson] out for the whole season, myself out for the whole year. So, I'm sure he'll be back playing again, but it was tough to see him just break his hand on TV. I mean, he's been doing so much, and the team is still transitioning. And it's a new group and a young group. Always trying to do so much and having him out is going to be tough for them to sustain. So, hopefully he gets back and gets healthy."
Curry suffered the injury during the Warriors' 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday when he fell to the floor and Suns center Aron Baynes landed on his left hand:
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said Curry will undergo an MRI and CT scan to determine if surgery is necessary, while ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported that Curry fractured his second metacarpal.
Entering the season, the Warriors had reached five consecutive NBA Finals, but it was clear that making it six in a row wouldn't be easy. In addition to Durant leaving to sign with the Nets in free agency, Thompson may not play at all this season after suffering a torn ACL during last season's Finals.
Now, arguably the Warriors' three most important players of the past few years are all dealing with significant injuries, with Durant expected to miss the entire 2019-20 campaign for Brooklyn while recovering from a torn Achilles.
With Durant gone and both Curry and Thompson injured, Draymond Green is the only member of the Warriors' "Big Four" who is still healthy and playing for the team.
After Curry's injury and a loss to Phoenix that dropped Golden State to 1-3 on the season, Green lamented the Warriors' bad luck so far this season, per The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears: "It's unfortunate. Another one of our guys going down, one of our leaders. It's tough. Hopefully it's [an injury] where he don't need surgery, kind of get back sooner rather than later. But we'll find out more when he gets the tests done."
Now that both Thompson and Curry are on the shelf, Green will be looked upon to contribute more in all areas, as will first-year Warrior D'Angelo Russell, who was acquired from the Nets during the offseason.
Head coach Steve Kerr will also be forced to lean on some younger players, such as forward Eric Paschall and Glenn Robinson III, center Willie Cauley-Stein and guards Jordan Poole and Ky Bowman.
The Warriors of the past five years will go down as one of the greatest teams in NBA history, but with many of their top players injured or no longer on the team, Golden State now looks like a shell of its former self.
